Have your feet ever kissed the ground you walked on? Have you ever felt the soothing touch of the cool sand on your bare feet? Have you let the dewy grass wet your feet, sending sensations of thrill and joy running through your body? Have you felt the warmth of a heated rock on a sunny afternoon? It seems like a faint memory, doesn’t it?
Feet, the foundations of our gait. We tend to them with expensive pedicures and foot care. Dress them up in couture footwear. But we ignore the importance of letting our feet breathe free and communicate.
Like other animals, humans were meant to walk bare feet. Over time our ancestors found ways to protect their feet from nature’s extremes. In time, what seemed a necessity gave way to an industry of fashion and business. The possibilities seem endless, from cushioned athletic shoes for longer strides to fancy stilettos. As we progress towards our constant need for comfort and style, we humans are moving far away from our connection to the basics.
We have disconnected ourselves from nature. We have changed our ways of communication. We now use machines to convey our thoughts and emotions. And in doing so, we have ignored the subtle messages our bodies are trying to communicate. As a result, what we feel and emote begins to settle and reside deep inside our bodies.
“ A yogi’s brain extends from the bottom of the foot to the top of the head,” said BKS Iyengar.
The human foot narrates a fantastic story of our anatomy. Each step we take is a symphony of over a hundred thousand nerve endings, 26 bones, 30 joints, and more than 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments, working together seamlessly as we move around. And so, if our foundation is tilted or collapsed, we see it reflected in the rest of our bodies as a structural misalignment.
Our feet (since we are bipeds) are the first surface contact of communication with the ground. It sends crucial sensory information to the brain. It absorbs free ions from the earth, thus acting as an antioxidant that grounds our nervous system, causing healing at a cellular level.
Also known as grounding or earthing, walking bare feet for a minimum of 20 mins has been shown to reduce inflammation in the body, improve insomnia, and balance our internal cycles or circadian rhythms.
But our feet very rarely touch natural earth surfaces anymore. We wear footwear with rubber soles that act as insulation to the earth’s electrical impulses. We carpet our houses or use budget-friendly laminate flooring.
The more we progress, the farther away from health, healing, and nature. We are caging ourselves up inside our homes and buildings. But it doesn’t have to be this way. We can change all this.
Let us start the conversation once again. Let us bare our soles to mother earth, connect with her, care for the soil, allow our bodies to feel the ground we walk on, and let Mother earth know how we are doing and feeling. Trust her once more to embrace us and welcome us as the prodigal sons and daughters returning home to wholeness.
In the words of Thich Nat Hanh, “ walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.
Happy Mothers Day! Let us save our soil.